I don't know it frightens me how much the big pharma companies can hold so much power with the medical professionals and we are the human equvilant of lab rats. We wonder why it takes us so long to get better. It's a joke clutter they should hang their heads in shame.

Spare, most companies want three tenders, sadly most automatically choose the cheapest which isn't always best. This is different. These people are influencing what meds will be used across the NHS. They're kidding themselves, if not us, if they believe freebies don't influence their recommendations.

I agree, but industry has 'buyers' acting independently - "perks of the job"- but the NHS is spending public money and should be limited e.g. to have tenders (of course the cheapest option is not always the best, and not always chosen) but competitive choice isn't a bad idea.

I am very grateful for the NHS, & willingly pay my 12% every month - but IMHO they do fly this national flag of immunity. Who are the overseers??? The governing body??? The government??? - the same body investigating corruption???

Anyone can 'declare' an interest - and not vote - leaving it to others on the board to vote who have a similar interest - bit like Whist.

s a retired teaching lawyer, I would advise every one on this site to look at wikaepedia's comments on glaxosmith kline case in 2013 when a prosecution was brought against them and rather that let the case go to full judgment they settled for a few billion pounds to the claimants. The full case is on that website. Conflict of interest is rife

How strange that both of these articles should mention epilepsy drugs... Both my husband and my daughter who have very similar sciatic nerve problems were told on separate occasions to take anti-convulsant drugs designed to treat epilepsy (Gabapentin for my daughter and Pregabalin for my husband). Neither of them did as just one run-through of the PIL was enough to scare the living daylights out of both of them. Even the common side effects (affecting at least 1 in 10 people) were seriously scary! Why anyone who actually needed to take these tablets would actually want to do so beats me, but there was no way either my daughter or husband were going to. In the end I told my hubby to try a TENS machine I'd bought for my eldest daughter when she was pregnant and he's been able to stop all extra medication since then.

Yes... but the really funny bit was that on the first day he used it (Sunday) he got up rather quickly after the cat jumped up on him it slipped out of his pocket, fell on the floor and broke... Thankfully we managed to get him a replacement yesterday!